<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>And All the Men and Women Merely Players by xJane</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29243121">And All the Men and Women Merely Players</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xJane/pseuds/xJane'>xJane</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>All the World's a Stage [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SKAM (France)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Theatre, M/M, actor!Eliott, stage manager!Lucas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:35:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,939</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29243121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xJane/pseuds/xJane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A companion piece to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775784/chapters/70564533">All the World's a Stage</a>. This will not make a lot of sense if you haven't read that one.</p><p>***</p><p>No matter how much he loves acting, and how many prizes he wins, and how many followers his Instagram has, he still doesn’t like auditions.</p><p>A blonde girl calls him in, and Eliott self-consciously enters the venue. Imane greets him happily from her seat, and Eliott immediately feels better – until his eyes catch the curious gaze of somebody in the back row.</p><p>Eliott mechanically registers the stage black. A crew member on their break? For a few seconds, he stares at the guy. He is enthralled by the vivid blue eyes looking straight at him. Even from this distance, even in the dim theatre, he feels their pull. But then the other man breaks the contact to take a sip from a coffee mug and note something down in a binder.</p><p>Eliott is sure he completely fails the audition, too shaken by those blue eyes to pay much attention to what is going on.</p><p>***</p><p>Theatre AU continues!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>All the World's a Stage [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Soooo... a little bit more of Theatre AU!</p><p>These are supposed to be small snippets from the same universe as my "Theatre AU" <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775784/chapters/70564533">All the World's a Stage</a>, but from Eliott's POV. A bit like some "missing scenes", if you will. It is NOT the same story from Eliott's POV, but rather it compliments it.</p><p>You will have to read <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775784/chapters/70564533">All the World's a Stage</a> first. If you haven't read it yet, you could also choose to read chapter 1 of it, and then come back to this fic before continuing with chapter 2 of the main story.</p><p>These six snippets take place over the course of ACT I (or chapter 1) of the <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775784/chapters/70564533">main story</a>. The second chapter of this fic will consist of five snippets taking place during the events described in ACT II (or chapter 2) of the main fic. I will post those either tomorrow or early next week.</p><p>[Please excuse me for remaining typos etc. I did edit these, but not up to my usual standards. I am pretty busy with exams coming up and I wanted to get this posted - so, again, apologies if it is not up to par. I will go over this again later, but in the mean time I'd be grateful if you would point out any mistakes.]</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>#1</p><p> </p><p>Eliott still doesn’t like auditions. He’s better at it, after a few years in the business, but the idea of having to sell himself still irks him.</p><p>He’s only here because Imane asked him. And if it hadn’t been for Imane, he’d never have stumbled into this career, so he owes her.</p><p>He didn’t have to audition five years ago, when she asked him to help him out for her exam play. She’d been about to graduate, and he’d thought she needed some help painting the set or something. Turned out she was directing Zoo Story, and wanted him to act. He’d thought she’d lost her mind, having a total newbie tackling a huge role like that. He was still battling his feelings of worthlessness after his graceless drop out of art school, and he was worried he’d fuck it up for Imane. But she’d insisted, and nobody said no to Imane when she really wanted something. And Imane had, naturally, been right. Eliott had loved it, and Imane’s classmates and professors seemed to think he had some talent. So he’d decided to see if there was a future for him in theatre.</p><p>It looks like it has been the best decision of his adult life, so far. His last role, King Lear, had landed him on quite a few award longlists and even more “Hottest actors in France” tabloid pop polls. And he likes it, too. He loves that he gets to be creative, but in a structured environment, with rules and deadlines, and where he can also get help from others when he’s stuck. It’s completely different than sitting all alone in a studio at 5 a.m. surrounded by half-covered canvases and slowly going insane.</p><p>But no matter how much he loves acting, and how many prizes he wins, and how many followers his Instagram has, he still doesn’t like auditions.</p><p>A blonde girl calls him in, and Eliott self-consciously enters the venue. Imane greets him happily from her seat, and Eliott immediately feels better – until his eyes catch the curious gaze of somebody in the back row.</p><p>Eliott mechanically registers the stage black. A crew member on their break? For a few seconds, he stares at the guy. He is enthralled by the vivid blue eyes looking straight at him. Even from this distance, even in the dim theatre, he feels their pull. But then the other man breaks the contact to take a sip from a coffee mug and note something down in a binder.</p><p>Eliott is sure he completely fails the audition, too shaken by those blue eyes to pay much attention to what is going on.</p><p>But then the two lead actresses do a scene with him, and even though Eliott keeps glancing to the back row – he thinks he sees a smile on the guy’s face – the casting director seems happy with his performance.</p><p>When he accepts the job, Imane hugs him. He looks over her shoulder, and sees the mysterious man slip out through the back.</p><p>He wonders if Imane would find it strange if he starts interrogating her about the crew.</p><p> </p><p>#2</p><p> </p><p>Lucas.</p><p>His name is Lucas, and he’s the stage manager.</p><p>Eliott had hoped he’d be part of the costume team – his fingers all over Eliott’s chest, to measure him – or maybe a sound engineer – needing to tape the microphone battery in the small of Eliott’s back – or in a pinch, another cast member so they could at least study their lines together.</p><p>No such luck.</p><p>Well, at least that means he’s gonna be in black at all times, Eliott thinks, letting his mind wanders during the table read. Lucas looks damn good in black. Delectable.</p><p>Eliott wonders what Lucas hides under the black.</p><p>He’s pretending to be reading along in the script, turning pages when everybody else does so, but from under his eyelashes he’s peeking at Lucas. They’re all seated on stage, and Lucas is flitting around, making sure all his information is correct, collecting missing paperwork, whispering with some other crew members in a corner of the stage, measuring the curtains in the wings, all sorts of stuff. It fascinates Eliott to no end.</p><p>Right now, Lucas is standing somewhere in the house facing away from the stage, and he is trying to reach something that’s slightly too high for him. Lucas is a few inches shorter than Eliott, and for some reason, Eliott finds him incredibly cute, standing on his tiptoes, his arms outstretched over his head. He almost gets up to help him, but the pose has Lucas’ T-shirt riding up and it reveals a tantalizing sliver of pale, smooth skin to Eliott’s eyes. He’s riveted.</p><p>So much so, that he misses Imane’s cough, and then Daphné calling his name.</p><p>He is brought back down to earth by his neighbour waving a delicate hand in front of his face.</p><p>“Eliott?”</p><p>His answering “Huh?” is far from polite.</p><p>“That was your cue.”</p><p>It takes him a beat too long to realize what she is talking about, and she points a manicured nail in his script.</p><p>“Your cue.”</p><p>Ah. Right. Table read. Eliott’s cue. He nods, certain he’s looking like an idiot.</p><p>“Uhm, yes. My cue. Yeah, of course. Thanks.”</p><p>The girl – Tiffany, if he remembers correctly – starts giggling and falls against his shoulder.</p><p>“You’re so funny!”</p><p>Eliott doesn’t know what exactly cracks her up, but he does sit up straighter. She just leans over even more.</p><p>As he says his line, though, his eyes wander back to Lucas, who managed to grab whatever he was after. Too bad. Eliott would have liked to watch a bit longer. Then again, just the way those soft, worn jeans hug Lucas’ thighs is enough to capture Eliott’s attention.</p><p>Then Tiffany whispers in his ear.</p><p>“Eyes to the script, Eliott. You have another cue coming up.”</p><p>It sounds a bit rude, but maybe that’s just because she’s speaking so low.</p><p>The next time Eliott looks up, Lucas is gone, and Tiffany is looking straight at him.</p><p>Right. Eyes to the script.</p><p> </p><p>#3</p><p> </p><p>Since the crew is working on the set for a few days, rehearsals are in the dance room.</p><p>Eliott doesn’t mind, except of course Lucas cannot slip into the back row to watch them during his break when they’re here.</p><p>Eliott feels the loss of a certain pair of blue eyes keenly.</p><p>He’s a bit off-kilter all day, and he has difficulties focusing somehow. Imane makes a remark about it, which makes him feel even worse. After that, it becomes a struggle. It’s not just Eliott – nobody seems to have a lot of energy, they forget their blocking, Daphné is correcting lines all the time, they lose twenty-five minutes to a discussion about some character’s motivations which doesn’t even lead to a consensus and which seems to leave the actor even more confused, and then they discover a problem with a prop that is carried off by somebody stage left and then twenty seconds later needs to be brought on stage again by somebody else, who enters stage right. Imane finally shelves the discussion for later, furiously making marks in her script.</p><p>Rehearsal runs over time, and Eliott feels horribly guilty. He cannot help but feel overwhelmed and think it was his lack of concentration that derailed the whole day. He is slow picking up his stuff, and when he looks up it’s just him and Imane left. She looks at him with kind, thoughtful eyes.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Imane. I… I just didn’t really feel it today.”</p><p>“I don’t think you’re the problem, Eliott. There are always days when it feels like you’re taking two steps back for every step forward. I’m not too worried. Tomorrow will be better.”</p><p>Eliott nods automatically, but he isn’t convinced.</p><p>“Maybe I’m not good enough, though,” he says, his head hanging low, afraid to look at Imane. “Maybe you made a mistake picking me.”</p><p>“Hey,” Imane answers immediately. “Hey, none of that. You gave me enough of this crap when we were doing Zoo Story. Besides, the casting director loved you too, and are you saying the jury from the Parisian Acting Awards were all wrong when you won Best Young Actor?”</p><p>Eliott blushes. He is very proud of winning that, but still, it does feel a bit undeserved, when there are so many other great actors, who had actually gone to college to study drama. Of course, Eliott has been trying to make up for his lack of education, by taking workshops and masterclasses whenever he could, but even so, it sometimes feels a bit like he is just an impostor, and any day now somebody will call him out on it.</p><p>Imane, bless her and her patience, pats his shoulder.</p><p>“Eliott. Listen to me. I didn’t make a mistake, and neither did those jury members. You are a natural, but even naturals have off days.” She waits for Eliott to look up, but when he doesn’t, she continues gently, reassuringly, “Everybody in the cast thinks you’re doing great. And from what I hear from the crew, they are very impressed with you too.”</p><p>That gets Eliott’s attention.</p><p>“You talked to the crew about me? Like – who?”</p><p>Imane shrugs.</p><p>“I don’t really talk to many of them often. But sometimes they let slip something during our meetings. Just because they aren’t actors doesn’t mean they don’t know good acting when they see it.”</p><p>“Yeah, no, obviously. They probably see a lot of bad acting during rehearsals, or auditions… So, uhm, the crew thinks I’m doing well, then?”</p><p>Eliott wishes he could just outright ask if Lucas had said anything.</p><p>Imane hums.</p><p>“At least so far as I’ve heard.”</p><p>She’s ready to leave, holding the door for Eliott.</p><p>“But hey, you know what?”, she says, as they sign out – Eliott, as always, writing as neatly as he can, knowing Lucas will collect the sheet later, “You can just ask them, if you’re curious. Maybe start with Lucas, he’s been in to watch quite often. More often than last time we worked together. I wonder what has him so invested.”</p><p>And it’s a good thing she immediately follows up by saying Idriss wants to know when Eliott has an evening off so they can hang out together, or Eliott might have fainted altogether.</p><p> </p><p>#4</p><p> </p><p>Eliott likes Manon a lot. They’ve been taking advantage of break and wait times to practice their lines together, but because they are both taking their jobs seriously, they discover quickly they don’t really need the practice. But they still hang out, discussing their characters, or talking about plays they both like.</p><p>And then Manon drops it. She’s so casual about it, as if doesn’t mean a thing. As if she’s not shattering Eliott’s world.</p><p>“It’s so cool to hear your opinion on this stuff. It reminds me of how Lucas and I would cuddle up under a blanket on the sofa and discuss plays together.”</p><p>Eliott can picture it. Pretty Manon and prettier Lucas together. All cuddled up. A small sofa where there’s no room but to almost sit in each other’s lap. An even smaller blanket so they have to curve up against each other to fit. Discussing plays. And then, when the argument gets heated, dropping the talk and kiss the other into agreeing.</p><p>He can picture it quite well.</p><p>He can picture it even better if he puts himself in Manon’s spot.</p><p>“Sounds nice,” he says, forcefully trying to erase the second image. “So, you and Lucas, you…”</p><p>His sentence trails off, the question hanging in the air.</p><p>Manon nods.</p><p>“Since we were sixteen. Can’t believe he’s been in my life for ten years!” She laughs brightly.</p><p>Wow. Ten years. High school lovers. That’s something else.</p><p>Eliott sighs. Ah, well, if it makes Lucas happy, right? And if Eliott has to see him with someone else, it might as well be Manon.</p><p>“Ten years. That’s amazing.”</p><p>“Mmmm,” Manon agrees, taking a sip from her coffee. “I’m glad he decided to follow me when I went to study Drama. But it would have been better for my stomach if he hadn’t taken to stage management.” She eyes the cup with a grimace. “His coffee is way too strong for me.” She stands up easily, gracefully, and goes to rinse it out. “Although I suppose I should be happy he makes it, or we’d probably not even have any.”</p><p>As Eliott is overthinking what he just learned, and trying to tell his heart that Lucas is definitely out of the question, Tiffany slides on the chair Manon has just left.</p><p>“Eliott!” She sounds breathless, and she presses a hand against her chest dramatically. Eliott almost snorts. He wants to point out she’s not on stage right now and can leave out the big gestures. Instead, he just sighs. She seems to take that as an encouragement to continue. “I need your help. Please, Eliott, it’s vital! Life and death!”</p><p>Okay. Eliott’ll bite. He doesn’t really like Tiffany, although she’s always perfectly nice, but it might be best to keep away from Manon for a while. He’ll only think about her and Lucas whenever they talk. So he turns to Tiffany, and replies, “Well, in that case, of course I will help. What can I do for you?”</p><p>“Oh, you’re my hero,” she titters. She removes the hand from her chest – showing quite some skin – and places it on his. “I knew I could count on you. I really, really need your help studying my lines.”</p><p>Running lines is a matter of life and death? Eliott swallows down another snort. Then again, it is becoming a disaster, the way she’s struggling with them. It’s slowing down rehearsals considerably, and Imane is getting tetchy.</p><p>“Okay,” he relents. “If you get your script we can start right away.”</p><p>“Oh.” She looks at him with huge eyes. They’re blue, and big, but for some reason they don’t strike Eliott the way Lucas’ do. There always seems to be a veil in Tiffany’s stare, something calculating and secretive.</p><p>“I was hoping we could do it in your dressing room. I can’t concentrate in here, with people coming in and out all the time. And I share with Manon, and she is always moving around and receiving messages and it distracts me.”</p><p>Eliott frowns. Manon is hardly ever in her dressing room, preferring to hang out in the breakroom or watch the rehearsals from the wings when she’s not needed. But if Tiffany is that easily distracted, maybe it explains why she doesn’t have her lines down yet. He assumes it would work to everybody’s advantage if he helps her, so he shrugs and gets up.</p><p>“Let’s go then.”</p><p> </p><p>#5</p><p> </p><p>Eliott doesn’t know where or how, but he must have been dreaming at one point.</p><p>Because he could have sworn Manon had told him she’d been dating Lucas since high school. But today Lucas dropped something about an ex who’d been promising to come pick up his stuff for months. So, first, he needs to figure whether Manon and Lucas had been a break or something. And second, whether the male pronouns Lucas had used were just a figment of Eliott’s overactive imagination. Not that it mattered if Lucas was in a committed relationship, but still. Be nice to know Eliott might at one point have a chance.</p><p>So he leaves Tiffany in his dressing room – “Don’t worry, Tiff! You can stay here and study your lines in peace! I know how much it distracts you to study in the breakroom.” – and he goes to find Manon.</p><p>He finds her in the breakroom, muttering, still complaining about Lucas’ strong coffee.</p><p>That gives Eliott the perfect opening.</p><p>“So you said you met Lucas in high school?”</p><p>He hopes he comes across nonchalant. He’s an actor, he should be able to feign indifference, right? Manon doesn’t seem to consider nefarious motives behind his question, so he counts it as a win.</p><p>“Yeah, he moved into our flat share in junior year. It was a very tough time for him – he just moved to Paris with his mom a few months earlier, and then his mom got sick. He didn’t really know anybody and he was trying to figure out who he was. Our other roommate helped him out a lot with that, although it still took Lucas a few years before he officially came out.”</p><p>“Came out?”</p><p>Eliott’s voice sounds high to his ears, but Manon doesn’t seem to notice as she suddenly puts her hand on her mouth, her eyes wide.</p><p>“Oh, shit. I probably shouldn’t have told you all that. Ah, well, too late now. Anyway, you’re too kind to treat him differently. And if you do, well, I’ll make you regret it.” She laughs. “He’s always been like my little brother, even though he’s only like five weeks younger than me.”</p><p>She smiles, and Eliott smiles back, albeit a bit tightly. He kinda has more questions than before, but he doesn’t really know how to ask them without raising questions.</p><p>“Your little brother?”</p><p>Manon giggles.</p><p>“Don’t let him know that. I don’t think he’d appreciate that. Especially the little part. Then again, he is very cute when he gets all feisty.”</p><p>Eliott somehow can imagine that.</p><p>“Anyway. I need to go find Alexia. My dress for the second act is ready and I’m so curious. See you later! And remember, treat my little brother right!”</p><p>She saunters away, still chuckling.</p><p>Eliott doesn’t say how he wants to treat Lucas exactly. He wonders if she would consider it right.</p><p>Well, at least it doesn’t sound like Lucas and Manon are dating. And coming out, that must mean that Lucas isn’t straight. So Eliott probably didn’t dream the story about the male ex.</p><p>Okay.</p><p>He can work with that.</p><p> </p><p>#6</p><p> </p><p>Yann calls out to Eliott as soon as he enters the breakroom.</p><p>“Oy, Eliott! Wanna sit with us?”</p><p>Eliott does, even though he quickly notices Lucas is nowhere to be seen.</p><p>Eliott likes Yann, and not just because Yann and Lucas are kinda friends. He already tried to subtly interrogate Yann on Lucas, but he didn’t really uncover anything more than he already knew. He did however find he genuinely appreciates Yann’s humour.</p><p>Today is no exception. Yann is a font of horrible memes, which somehow are the epitome of hilarity, and before long the two of them are cackling, heads bent together over Yann’s phone.</p><p>Then Arthur dashes in, grabbing a coffee refill.</p><p>Eliott raises his hand in greeting, and the blonde comes over to sit with them for a minute or two drinking his brew.</p><p>“What’s up, man?”, Yann asks.</p><p>Arthur shrugs.</p><p>“I can’t find Tiffany anywhere. We were supposed to run through the breakfast scene with Daphné because Imane got upset at our slow progress yesterday, but I’ve looked everywhere for her. Daphné wasn’t too pleased, I can tell you. Remind me never to get into that woman’s bad book.”</p><p>He shudders exaggeratedly, and Eliott laughs.</p><p>“Anyway. I’m off. We’re starting again in ten. Are you coming too, Eliott?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Eliott gets up and follows Arthur out. “I’m just gonna pick up my script in my dressing room. See you in a few.”</p><p>He enters his room in a great mood, looking forward to rehearsal, but he stops dead in his tracks.</p><p>“Tiffany?”</p><p>Tiffany is standing near the make-up table, with her back to Eliott. She turns around rapidly.</p><p>“What are you doing here?”</p><p>“I, uh,” she stammers. “I was looking for you… I wanted to, uh, ask if you could stay a bit longer tonight so we can go over the kiss scene.”</p><p>Eliott merely raises an eyebrow. She’s acting shifty, and if she was looking for Eliott, there’s no reason to hang out in his dressing room when he’s clearly not there. He wants to call her out, but he’s afraid to cause a conflict.</p><p>“I just felt I was struggling with it a bit, you know?”</p><p>And, well, Eliott is not stupid. He knows Tiffany has been trying to get him to rehearse one-on-one with him, she’s been in here a couple of times to study her lines because “Manon is so distracting, and the breakroom is completely out of the question, please, Eliott?”, and she asked him to go out for lunch together twice.</p><p>He knows Tiffany is flirting with him in a very flashy, blatant, irritating, and frankly, totally off-putting manner.</p><p>He also knows he has no interest in Tiffany.</p><p>He was hoping she’d realize that all by herself, because he hates confrontations.</p><p>But maybe the time has come to let her know.</p><p>“Listen, Tiffany, if you feel you need extra rehearsal time for certain scenes, maybe you could speak to Imane or Daphné? I’m sure they could find some time.”</p><p>Tiffany pouts, and Eliott feels just a bit bad about brushing her off.</p><p>“And of course, if I can, I’ll be there too. But, uh, if it’s not too much trouble, I’d prefer it if you wouldn’t come in here anymore.”</p><p>Tiffany shakes her long hair. It looks pretty mussed up, to Eliott. But that’s not important right now.</p><p>“But you know I can’t study with people around.”</p><p>Eliott says nothing. He won’t cave.</p><p>“Oh, okay, fine!”, Tiffany huffs. “But you’ll have to make it up to me. Maybe you can take me to dinner tonight, since we get off early.”</p><p>“I can’t, sorry –”</p><p>She interrupts him.</p><p>“Or maybe Friday? I know this Italian place. I swear I won’t talk about work!”</p><p>She giggles, and suddenly Eliott is tired of it all.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible. For one, it would be unprofessional –”</p><p>“Oh, come on, Eliott! There’s no clause in our contracts to say we can’t go out, or even date.”</p><p>Quite luckily there is not, Eliott thinks, aware of his hypocrisy, because he really hopes to date Lucas soon.</p><p>Tiffany winks, and Eliott steels himself.</p><p>“Okay, but secondly and more importantly, I’m… into someone else.”</p><p>Tiffany turns an unattractive red and screws her eyes closed. She looks stupid like that, but then she opens them again and there’s something shrewd and cold in them.</p><p>“Oh, really? Not something who works here, I hope? ‘Cause that would be horribly unprofessional, don’t you think?”</p><p>Eliott sighs. This is why he hates confrontations.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Tiffany. But I need you to go now. Rehearsal is starting soon.”</p><p>She stomps out in a huff.</p><p>Eliott grabs his script and looks around. He hopes Tiffany will understand, once she’s over the disappointment.</p><p>And then he hurries to the stage. Maybe Lucas will come and watch during his break.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>All right, I promised you five snippets set during ACT II (or chapter 2) of <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775784/chapters/70564533">All the World's a Stage</a> and here are six of them. </p>
<p>It's not that I can't count, it's just that I was very unsure about the quality of the last one, and I didn't want to end the fic on that note. But well, it got written, I might as well post it. Just go read the final chapter of <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775784/chapters/70564533">All the World's a Stage</a> afterwards and all will be fine!</p>
<p>This *should* be the end of Theatre AU. But I love this universe, and there are so many ideas for a sequel, or at the very least just a sort of coda with the whole group working on another play, that I should probably stop making promises.</p>
<p>&lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>#7</p>
<p> </p>
<p>His hands are cramped and he’s nearly filled his sketchbook, but nothing seems to work. He’s drawn Lucas as a squirrel, a tiger, a dolphin, and a thousand other animals, but nothing fits.</p>
<p>He needs something cute, but competent. An animal which takes no crap from anybody. Maybe something nocturnal, because Lucas lives in the half dim world back stage and in the blue lights in the call booth.</p>
<p>Whenever Eliott thinks of Lucas, he thinks of black, and of blue. Suddenly he yearns for some paint, luscious oil on a big canvas, filled with every tint of blue he can find, until he drowns in it.</p>
<p>He wishes he was better at actual figurative drawing. He tried to draw a portrait of Lucas yesterday, when Lucas was sitting at the table in the breakroom, focused on some report he was filling out, barely noticing Eliott. He’d been so beautiful, biting his lip in concentration, his hair spiky from the number of times he had run his hand through it. It had suited him.</p>
<p>Most everything suits Lucas. Sexy Lucas in his faded black jeans and his blue eyes under his spiky hair.</p>
<p>Wait a minute – spiky hair.</p>
<p>Spikes.</p>
<p>In less than a minute a hedgehog appears on the page. Just to check things out Eliott draws his own raccoon next to the hedgehog. The raccoon positively has heart eyes, no two ways about it.</p>
<p>Probably pretty realistic, Eliott thinks. It’s a miracle Lucas hasn’t noticed yet. Or anybody else.</p>
<p>He sketches the hedgehog making coffee, walking around with a kit bigger than himself, taping the set.</p>
<p>They all look adorable.</p>
<p>So that settles it. Lucas is a hedgehog.</p>
<p>And suddenly Eliott wants to run his hands through that messy hair. It would be soft, he decides, and Lucas would look up at him with his big blue eyes, chin tilted up and red lips in a fucking irresistible invitation –</p>
<p>“Eliott?”</p>
<p>Basile’s voice tears him away from his daydream. Ah, yes, he had been wanting to check something about the final scene, where Eliott is using a phone which interferes with the sound.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m coming,” he yells back.</p>
<p>Word choice, Eliott, he chastises himself in silence, as he forces the image of an eminently kissable Lucas from his head.</p>
<p>He’ll just have to revisit it later tonight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>#8</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eliott is pretty tired.</p>
<p>It is to be expected, of course.</p>
<p>Rehearsals are always exhausting, but he’s used to that by now.</p>
<p>The real reason for his lack of energy lies somewhere else entirely.</p>
<p>A certain stage manager has been keeping him awake at night.</p>
<p>Oh, not because of his line notes forcing Eliott to stay up late studying, or because of remarks in the rehearsal reports preventing him from falling asleep, or because of any other professional issue for that matter.</p>
<p>Oh, no. Nothing like that.</p>
<p>It’s more that every night, as soon as Eliott lies down, he starts thinking of what Lucas would be doing right now.</p>
<p>Would Lucas be typing out today’s rehearsal report? Is he just now thinking about how to formulate how the cast performed today? Is he, right at this very moment, thinking about Eliott, biting the end of his pencil, deciding whether or not Eliott needs to be mentioned in the report? Is he getting distracted pondering Eliott?</p>
<p>Or has he finished the report yet, ready with work for the day? Is he taking off those damned sexy black jeans? Does he wear black boxers underneath, or does he rebel against all the black by wearing brightly coloured underwear?</p>
<p>Eliott imagines them both, and he can’t decide which is sexier. It doesn’t really matter anyway, because before long Imaginary Lucas is taking them off. Or Imaginary Eliott is, with his teeth.</p>
<p>Eliott has been taking a lot of cold showers recently. Not that it really helps, because as soon as he’s under the blankets, he’s getting hot and bothered again. Even on those nights when he refrains of actively doing something about it, his dreams will take him there anyway. It’s a miracle Eliott manages to talk to Lucas at work.</p>
<p>He worries he must be completely obvious. Lucas hasn’t said anything, though. Maybe he is being kind, letting Eliott down nicely by pretending not to notice Eliott’s feelings.</p>
<p>Lately the dreams have shifted a bit, from overtly sexual to just plain domestic. He pictures Lucas bringing him coffee in the morning, the early light filtering through the curtains, waving in the breeze coming through the open windows. He pictures Lucas lying with his head in Eliott’s lap, watching tv, or practicing lines for Eliott’s next play. He pictures himself sketching Lucas while he is reading a play, or cooking, or typing away furiously in utter concentration. He imagines them dancing on the balcony. He imagines them finally going out to see that play together, as they talked about that one time. He dreams about asking Lucas out on a date. He envisions introducing him to his parents or Lucille. He thinks about Lucas coming to see him on opening night for a show Lucas didn’t work on, Lucas’ applause being louder than anyone else’s as he gives Eliott a standing ovation, proud and supportive.</p>
<p>God.</p>
<p>It’s all just so… simple, so plain, so down-to-earth.</p>
<p>Eliott has well and truly fallen for Lucas.</p>
<p>The dreams where he woke up clammy and with a raging erection – that was just lust. Carnal desire. Easily explained – Eiott has been single for so long, careful not to date since his fame started to rise, not wanting his personal life in the magazines.</p>
<p>This – this is something else. This is not just plain desire for any hot guy. This is love.</p>
<p>Crazy as it may be.</p>
<p>Now he just needs to find a way to let Lucas know.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>#9</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They are over halfway through the rehearsals, and Eliott still hasn’t really managed to catch Lucas alone. Lucas is always busy, and whenever Eliott wants to go up to him to talk, Lucas needs to go after a minute or two.</p>
<p>It’s frustrating, but it also enthrals Eliott to see Lucas in his element, solving problem after problem.</p>
<p>Lucas talks easily to anybody and everybody, and he seems to know how to treat everybody just right to bring out the best in them. It fascinates Eliott. He’s never been able to do that, just talk to people. It’s quite ironic that he makes his money talking to people he doesn’t know. Maybe it’s easier when he doesn’t have to think about what to say.</p>
<p>Still. Lucas probably has no patience for Eliott’s stammered greetings and bumbling tries at a conversation.</p>
<p>Eliott really wants to have some more time with Lucas without being interrupted. If he can just ease into it, he knows he can do it.</p>
<p>But he doesn’t dare to ask Lucas to come eat lunch with him, or god forbid, to go have a coffee together on their day off.</p>
<p>He just suffers in silence – in so far as watching Lucas being all confident and charming can be called suffering. Then again, those old shirts he wears gape at the collar, showing tantalizing much of Lucas’ collarbone, and to be watching the mole Lucas has there without being able to kiss it, can most definitely be called suffering.</p>
<p>And then Eliott is early one day, and he doesn’t think anybody will be at the venue yet, but when he gets there, the door is open, and he hears sounds in the call booth. He checks the breakroom and sure enough, there is coffee, so Lucas is here.</p>
<p>This just might be his chance. Lucas is here, and hardly anybody else is. So maybe… if Eliott makes sure to arrive even earlier tomorrow… Before Lucas gets going with whatever he needs to do… Maybe Lucas will have some time to drink his first coffee with Eliott. And maybe they can sit in the audience while they do so, in the half light, so Eliott isn’t distracted by Lucas’ blue eyes, and Lucas won’t notice Eliott’s blush.</p>
<p>Eliott could make a witty remark, and Lucas would be in awe, and conversation would flow easily from that.</p>
<p>And then, maybe, Eliott can find an excuse to keep doing that every morning.</p>
<p>It’s a plan.</p>
<p>It might not be a great plan, but Eliott is getting desperate.</p>
<p>His heart feels lighter suddenly. He has a plan to spend time with Lucas, alone, just the two of them. A plan to woo Lucas.</p>
<p>Rehearsal goes splendidly after that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>#10</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They’re waiting backstage, ready to go.</p>
<p>Tech rehearsal is not anybody’s favourite, but they’re professionals. They know it’s necessary and they are willing to do their part.</p>
<p>“So,” Arthur says, clapping Eliott on the shoulder just a bit too hard. Eliott grunts in reply.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard some rumours.”</p>
<p>Eliott raises an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“What sort of rumours?”</p>
<p>“Rumours about the state of your heart.”</p>
<p>Eliott blushes, and then panics. Does Arthur know about Eliott’s crush? How did he find out? Okay, fine, it must be clear to anybody with two eyes, but still, so far nobody has said anything.</p>
<p>“Aha!”, Arthur exclaims victoriously. “The gentleman blushes! So it’s true then?”</p>
<p>Eliott hesitates, but Arthur is a friend, or could easily become one. He nods.</p>
<p>“I knew it!”, the blonde calls out. “A sucker for a pair of pretty blue eyes, huh?” He grins widely, but it’s not malicious.</p>
<p>Eliott blushes even harder.</p>
<p>“Ah, man,” Arthur says, apparently noticing Eliott’s slight discomfort. “I’ll keep your secret, don’t worry. Though you might wanna talk to your blue-eyed beauty if you want to keep it on the down-low. How do you think I found out in the first place?”</p>
<p>And that – makes no sense.</p>
<p>Eliott frowns.</p>
<p>Is Lucas telling everybody that Eliott is in love with him? Mocking him behind his back? It doesn’t seem like Lucas. Then again, maybe Eliott’s opinion of Lucas can’t be trusted, seeing as how he’s seeing the man through rose-coloured lenses.</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” he asks slowly, carefully.</p>
<p>“Oh, just that she’s telling everybody the two of you are going to opening night together.”</p>
<p>And now Eliott is certain he’s entered an alternate reality.</p>
<p>She?</p>
<p>“Wait, what?” he replies. “Arthur, what are you talking about?”</p>
<p>It’s Arthur’s time to frown now.</p>
<p>“You and Tiffany, of course. I’m sorry, if you guys decided to keep it hidden for some reason, she’s not really doing her part.”</p>
<p>Wait right there. Tiffany?</p>
<p>Eliott must have said that out loud, because Arthur says, “Yeah, Tiffany,” as if speaking to a child.</p>
<p>“Arthur, but I – I’m not dating Tiffany. We’re not going to opening night together. I mean, we’ll both be there, of course, but not as a couple or something like that.”</p>
<p>Arthur watches him as if he has grown an extra head all of a sudden.</p>
<p>“Uh, that’s not what she’s saying though.”</p>
<p>“Shit. I swear, Arthur, we’re not dating.”</p>
<p>Arthur stares at Eliott for a minute, and then a smile appears on his face.</p>
<p>“Ah, okay. I believe you. Makes more sense, anyway. I was kinda wondering what the two of you had in common, but you know, man, no discussing taste.”</p>
<p>He wants to leave, but Eliott calls him back, urgency lacing his voice.</p>
<p>“Wait! Arthur, wait!”</p>
<p>Arthur turns, expectantly. Eliott hesitates, wondering how to phrase his question.</p>
<p>“Uhm, who – who else has she been talking to?”</p>
<p>He needs to know if Lucas thinks Eliott is dating Tiffany, too.</p>
<p>“Oh!” Arthur laughs. “This is Tiffany we’re talking about, man.”</p>
<p>That doesn’t sound promising.</p>
<p>“I don’t think she’s ever shutting up about it.” Arthur frowns again. “Why the hell is she saying stuff like that, though? She must have gotten something wrong. Huh. Women. I’ll never understand them.”</p>
<p>With that, he walks off, deep in thought.</p>
<p>Eliott may have a faint idea why. She might be trying to force his hand – or she might be trying to get somebody else, somebody she sees as competition, to back off.</p>
<p>Shit.</p>
<p>Eliott will have to find a way to say something to Lucas tomorrow, when they are having coffee together before rehearsal – if Lucas even has time for that tomorrow. Well, Eliott will just have to get Lucas apart for a few minutes. Maybe he should take a hint from Tiffany, and ask Lucas if he wants to be his date for opening night.</p>
<p>The idea of asking Lucas out is enough to get him excited about even tech rehearsal.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>#11</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Chloé is busy testing out his make-up for the final act.</p>
<p>Eliott will never get used to it, sitting in a chair for close to an hour while somebody fusses with his unruly hair, and swipes a million different sponges and pencils and brushes over his face. He still has to bite his lip not to tear up while somebody coats his eyelashes with a thick layer of mascara. And he doesn’t understand how Chloé is calling this a “natural look” and “just a light bronzing”.</p>
<p>To keep himself distracted, he talks.</p>
<p>Chloé is pretty young, but she’s good at her job. She’s passionate about it, too, and she’s smart enough to indulge Eliott to keep him from getting antsy.</p>
<p>So she tells him funny stories about their co-workers. She has a hilarious one about Alexia who once had a summer job as a dog walker and swapped the chihuahuas of two of her clients once, which lead to a bunch of shenanigans and even a police report for a missing dog. She confides in Eliott about Basile’s infatuation with Daphné, even though it’s the worst kept secret among both the cast and crew. She asks Eliott about Tiffany, but Eliott shuts her down just as fast as he did with Arthur earlier today.</p>
<p>Chloé seems happy about that, gossiping for a good three minutes about the actress’ deplorable manners, to skip part of tech rehearsal for an audition.</p>
<p>Eliott doesn’t even pretend to listen. Tiffany is a bit of a sore point right now, when he just discovered he might need to set things straight with Lucas.</p>
<p>But then, finally, when she’s almost done – “One more minute, Eliott, I promise it’s just the powder left!” – Chloé starts talking about Lucas.</p>
<p>“I mean, I don’t think I’d ever want to date somebody who’s also in this business, you know, but if I had to pick somebody, I do think Lucas wouldn’t be a punishment to go out with, you know?” She wiggles her eyebrows in a comical manner, and it’s clear she expects Eliott to laugh at her antics.</p>
<p>Eliott, however, cannot do anything else but stare at her.</p>
<p>And Chloé is smart.</p>
<p>“Oh.”</p>
<p>The brush stops a fraction of an inch from Eliott’s skin, and Chloé looks a bit taken aback. She corrects herself quickly, though, and her hand is steady as she continues.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know you were gay,” she whispers, and then slaps her hand over her mouth. “Oh, God, I’m sorry! That’s your business! But it’s fine by me if you are, of course…”</p>
<p>She ends a bit awkwardly, and Eliott wishes she’d just finish powdering, whatever powdering is.</p>
<p>“Uhm, pan, actually,” he mumbles. “I don’t mind if people know, but I just… you know, the gossip magazines… I never really confirmed or denied anything either way…”</p>
<p>“Oh, I won’t tell anybody, I swear!” She starts applying the brush to his temple again. “Contrary to what you must think, I <em>can</em> keep secrets.”</p>
<p>Eliott smiles thankfully at her in the mirror, and she smiles kindly back.</p>
<p>“But, since we’re on it… Lucas, then?”</p>
<p>She has dropped her voice conspiratorially, and at that moment, Eliott is happy somebody knows.</p>
<p>“Lucas, yeah.”</p>
<p>She grins.</p>
<p>“So you have noticed it too, then?”</p>
<p>Eliott looks questioningly at her.</p>
<p>“Those jeans that were washed a few times too often?”</p>
<p>Oh, God. Eliott did definitely notice, and he swears his blush is strong enough to break through the layers of junk Chloé put on his cheeks.</p>
<p>She cackles, but it’s not unkindly.</p>
<p>“Oh, Eliott. You know, I think you two would look good together. I’m rooting for you. Silently, of course. There, all done. What do you think?”</p>
<p>She looks at him expectantly as he tries to find something to say about the strange face looking at him from the mirror.</p>
<p>“Well,” he hedges. “Do you think it’ll help me catch Lucas?”</p>
<p>Chloé stares at him, and then she bursts out laughing, nodding frantically, and Eliott thinks it feels good to finally have spoken it out loud. Maybe he can still make this work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>#12</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They kissed.</p>
<p>Okay, it was all fake, and Eliott had taken advantage of Lucas, and Lucas had made it clear he hadn’t wanted it, but – they kissed.</p>
<p>It was pretty clear it was going to be their first and last kiss, what with Lucas’ outburst to Tiffany.</p>
<p>And Eliott felt horribly guilty about reliving it every waking second.</p>
<p>It had been even better than he’d imagined, though.</p>
<p>But he has to put Lucas out of his mind. He has to apologize and get over his crush.</p>
<p>It’s not the end of the world, however much it might feel like it.</p>
<p>He has recovered from unrequited crushes before. Even though none of them have been as intense as this.</p>
<p>He curses Tiffany inwardly. She had to be absent today, hadn’t she? And Daphné, why did Daphné have to go, so Lucas had to be the one to stand in for that final scene? And why did it have to be precisely that scene? Eliott feels the tears assembling in the corner of his eye. Shit, shit, shit. Why now? Why did he have to fuck up so badly?</p>
<p>In his heart he knows it’s not Tiffany’s fault, nor Daphné’s. No, the only person to blame is Eliott himself. He knows Lucas did like him, at least as a friend. They’ve been hanging out, and maybe Lucas had even been flirting a little bit – Eliott isn’t a hundred percent sure, but there had been some loaded pauses, some aborted sentences, some averted eyes. But none of that matters anymore. Because Eliott had to go and ruin it all by kissing Lucas without consent, before Lucas was ready, and in such a way Lucas felt like he couldn’t escape, with an audience on top. No, if anybody fucked up, it’s Eliott.</p>
<p>And now he has lost Lucas.</p>
<p>He’ll have to apologize, and hope Lucas won’t hate him. Maybe they can ever become friends again. The Parisian theatre world is small, they are bound to run into each other again, and he would hate for their relationship to be defined by Eliott’s mistake. He’d hate for Lucas to hate him, or resent him. He swears. He needs to call Lucile. Lucille will know what to do, and even if she doesn’t, she’ll listen and make things marginally better.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So. Remember to go read how our boys solve all this angst <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28775784/chapters/70564533">here</a>!</p>
<p>Leave a comment if you like! And should you feel like it, you can buy me a coffee <a href="https://ko-fi.com/xjane">on my Ko-fi page</a>.</p>
<p>&lt;3</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm always grateful for any comment you might want to leave!</p><p>&lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>